Analysis-Bad timing: Kazakhstan intervention presents unwelcome distraction for Putin

“Of course Russia is delighted to have supreme control in security terms in Central Asia. That goes to the narrative of Putin as a sort of re-creator of the Soviet Union,” Eyal said. “It allows Putin to portray himself as slightly more equal to the Chinese. He’s got an alliance which the Chinese don’t have, he’s got a gaggle of countries that look up to him as their ultimate protector, which the Chinese don’t have. He’s got a return to a position of a regional power, if not a global power, which is what he always craved.”